The Grad Gift

Monday, October 8, 2018

Hermione (made up name to protect her identity) was a student in my fast-track Web Developer class at SAIT in early 2017. Like a lot of students I get in that course, she was anxious about obtaining work after receiving her diploma.

One day in between exercises, I showed the class several 'Careers' web pages of good, local web design companies. One of those companies was Critical Mass, a company I had actually consulted with before. I often recommend this company to students because they have a world class client list, they do internships, and I have experience with them. That particular day, they happened to have an opening at the time for a Junior Web Designer, but no posted opportunities for internships. I encouraged the students to apply for the Junior Web Designer opportunity and Hermione challenged me...

"How can we do that when we don't have all the qualifications in their list of requirements?"

I often get this question, and I had an answer. "You need to understand how a company creates a job description. Many put it together as a list of qualifications for the perfect candidate. Others will build the job description based on an existing successful employee in the company. They realize that most of the applicants won't match all of the qualifications - and this is particularly true in the IT industry. "

Hermione digested my answer, and piped up again. "But we're still in school and we have several more weeks before we'd be available to start working! Does it really make sense to apply now for a position like this?"

"Absolutely!" I replied. "You never know what might come out of an application. The hiring process for many companies takes several weeks. There's usually a bunch of interviews for them to schedule and have, and then some planning and logistics around actually bringing the successful applicant aboard. You never know what will happen out of an application."

She still looked skeptical. I moved the class onto another exercise and didn't think too much more about it.

Several weeks later, I received the following email from Hermione:

"I took your advice about applying for jobs and I applied at
Critical Mass for a

Junior Web Developer position knowing that I was NOT
qualified and that they probably never call me back. Guess what? They called me
back! They don't think I am ready for the Junior Web Developer position, but
they want me to interview for their internship program. The interview is on
<blah>. Which leads me to the crux of this email. Would you consider
being a reference for me? And do you have any advice for this interview?"I responded:"Lol Excellent!Good for you, Hermione.

Certainly I can be a reference (as a teacher) for you.

Probably the best advice I have for your interview is if you
don't have the right answer, straight up tell them. But then also tell them you'll have to answer (or know about
whatever their asking you) tomorrow.
In other words, when you get home, you'll investigate it and get the
answers.

Bring a notepad to the
interview and make notes about anything like that (so you look like you mean
business). Come with a couple of
questions as well. Research in
advance anything in the job description you don't know about so you feel
prepared. Research the company a
bit - know where their office is, ensure you can make it there on time, who are
their current clients, some of the history, etc.

Smile! I don't
know if you read my blog post about that, but smiling is HUGE. If you can, try and get an interview
somewhere else first to practice and get the jitters out (and maybe get a
competing offer)

Hope that helps!
Good luck!"

She replied:

"Thank you! I appreciate the reference and the advice.

I've been panicking a little, I really thought they would
never call. I'm scrambling to get my portfolio site updated for the interview,
as well as just get prepared in general. I do have a practicum lined up though,
so no pressure...sort of."

In the end, Hermione got the internship. She was nervous going into the internship because she didn't feel entirely qualified. I told her not to worry and ask LOTS of questions. She ended up successfully completed her internship and came out feeling better about it than she expected to. It was a great lesson for her (and for me and all more students who I tell this story to) of how there are opportunities that you don't see in the job market.

Friday, September 14, 2018

Around 2009 I was teaching an Introduction to C# course to a full class of 'fast-track' students. We had just finished an intense exercise and so I thought I could give the students a mental break with some ad-libbing and expound on the importance of good soft-skills and a positive attitude in the IT industry. One of the students at the back of the class (I'll call him 'Tom') interrupted me mid-sentence and challenged me

The main entrance to Heritage Hall at SAIT

on attitude:

"How do you think someone like me feels? I just finished a computer science degree and no one wanted to hire me! There were no jobs! I had to come here and pay more tuition to become marketable in the field... And now the economy has downturned! How can I have a good attitude??"

Everyone had been looking at Tom during his outburst. He was one of the better students in the class and some of them knew his history. He had their respect and their empathy. Now they turned to face me en-mass to see how I'd respond.

I reached for a glass of water, took a sip, and dove in...

"I hear ya, Tom. I got my start in the IT field in a course just like this one - fast-track, 9 months of training where I went from knowing virtually no code to being ready for an IT coding job. Listen to my story..."

I proceeded to tell the class the story of my career change into IT and the challenges I had (you can read about it here). After regaling them with my tale and convincing them that I had as much reason be have a bad attitude as Tom, I encouraged them all to keep their chins up and actively find ways to stay motivated and persistent in their job search.

It was a moment as an instructor that I won't forget. A challenge from the class, I tried to sincerely respond, and then... I have wait and see what happens - if anything. Often there isn't much feedback in these situations and it seems like my heartfelt words fall into into a void. I cling to a hope that some of the students take what I say to heart.

~ ~ ~

Fast-forward almost a year.

I was walking in downtown Calgary to catch my bus home after work. Low and behold, walking up the sidewalk towards me is Tom! Recognizing me, he accelerated forward to shake my hand.

"Remember me?" He asked, smiling. How could I forget?

He proceeded to tell me that after school had finished he took what I said to heart, persevered in his job hunt and landed his dream job coding with an oil company in downtown Calgary. His demeanour and outlook had totally changed. He was upbeat, full of energy and brimming with hope. I was SO encouraged. He thanked me for sharing my story and thoughts on attitude back in class. I wished him good luck with his coding career and we parted ways.

Attitude is huge. Not just your attitude, but how you think and react to circumstances outside your control. Take ownership of the things you can change. Determine to make the things you can't change work in your favour, one way or the other.

Saturday, September 1, 2018

These days getting an college education doesn't mean you'll be working in that discipline for the rest of your life. Careers are much more fluid. Job skills are more transferable. Companies are more flexible, open, and I daresay even keenly interested in people work experience from other industries and practices. Being agile and nimble are crucial in today's work environment. Learning doesn't stop when school ends - its just beginning.

Given my experience in IT, I regularly get recruiters looking to potentially hire me for an IT contract from all over. Its ironic that Google and Apple just dropped their requirement for new hires to have a degree - I was just thinking I might have to get mine in order for my next career steps. In fact, I've just sent out requests for reference letters to that effect because I'll want to leverage my work experience for credit hours in my application for a degree.

In a couple of years our kids will be all done with regular school. My wife is itching to move then I think. I'd like to move as well. Ensuring I have some kind of 'formal recognition' for my learning and work experience certainly wouldn't hurt my situation if I find myself in a new city without my well established network.

God's plan for us may figure prominently into a move as well. I really don't know what the next step might be, but I want to be sure I'm following Him. I pray that whatever road I choose to follow, He could say that I was a good and faithful servant and that like David, I served God's purpose in my generation.

I don't know at this point what 'move' means. Is it a physical move, or something else? I pray that I'd be totally open and surrendered to God's plan - easier said that done for this 'me' that I know that is fearful and fickle. More IT? Writing? Teaching? Volunteering?

Several examples I was reminded of this week...

Jimmy Carter and his wife - 93 and 91 respectively - still building habitat for humanity houses

Mother Theresa and her work helping the 'poorest of the poor'.

Henri Nouwen leaving a distinguished career in teaching to work with the community at L'Arche.

Saturday, March 12, 2016

This past Thursday I did some presentations at James Fowler High School on what an IT (Information Technology) career is like. I had a total of 3 presentations in the morning. This was my second year presenting at James Fowler. See this blog post for thoughts on my 2015 presentation.

The class I presented in (room 330 this year) held about 40 students. The first two presentations it was full. The third presentation had about 25 students.

I had my 'new, updated' presentation on prezi.com, however the computer I was presenting off of crashed right before the first presentation. Yay IT! -> that's a sarcastic comment. We managed to get it up and running in short order and after that things went well.... Click on the image below to view my presentation.

Click the image to view my presentation

Some thoughts I had after wrapping up:

IT doesn't seem to be as interesting, exciting, or sexy as some other career options out there. For example, the Calgary Police had to present in the gym (due to the amount of interest). Here's some food for thought for people considering a career in policing (or the fire department, or being an EMT):

These careers involved shift work. While that might seem interesting for a young person, I'll guarantee you don't want to be working shifts for the rest of your life if you can help it. Its hard on your body physically and emotionally, and it can be hard on your family.

The fact that they are exciting correlates closely to the fact that they also can be quite stressful. Can you deal well with a lot of stress? Some people can, some can't.

I wondered how I could make an IT career a more palatable, exciting option for students. Perhaps it was by demonstrating that some of the richest people in the world currently had made their fortunes with IT? (Bill Gates, Kevin O'Leary, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, etc.) Or maybe it was by showing that the next biggest threat to the world was cyber related?

One of the big changes in careers in the last few decades has been the fact that irrespective of what career you target, you need to be prepared to learn for the rest of your life. Technology is influencing and changing every career out there, and technology isn't going to stand still.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

For years I lived with the fear that I wasn't entirely following God's plan for my life. I was trying to as best I could, but I thought maybe I wasn't hearing His direction good enough, or I turned 'left' instead of 'right' at a crucial juncture and as a result, I missed God's perfect plan for my life. Recently, I've been realizing (to my relief) that this was wrong thinking and a wrong perspective.

Over Christmas I watched part of this teaching below by Kris Vallotton on 'God's Purpose for our Lives' and got a glimpse of something I hadn't seen before - God's grace in the direction of my life.

How did I see that specifically, you may ask? Well, in part of this talk above, Kris talks about how everyone wants to be 'extraordinary' - to be seen as special. Kind of like 'The Special' in The Lego Movie. We all have had the desire (I think) at some point in our lives to feel that way. I always felt I had to be in the centre of God's perfect plan for my life to feel extraordinary..... and I didn't feel like that very often, so I felt like I was, perhaps, missing God, or not hearing Him, or making wrong turns, or something.

However, Kris suggests in his talk above that God has me right where He wants me, right now in this moment. That was a liberating thought for me. However, Kris took it further and added that if I want to live an extraordinary life, to simply ask God to come and help me be and/or do extra ordinary things today with the responsibilities and tasks that I have before me right now. Examples he gives in the talk above: David was a shepherd when God empowered him to kill a lion, a bear, and a giant. The disciples were fisherman before Jesus called them. Gideon was a farmer. Ruth was gleaning (would you consider that farming?). Joseph was a prisoner. I'm realizing that God can meet me right where I'm at, right now in my life. I don't have to worry or fear any longer that I'm not in the middle of His plan for me. He has a plan for me in this moment and place. All I have to do is ask for Him to come and join me.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

I found this book at Chapters and it (of course) piqued my curiosity, given the title and content. Frankly, this was another book that made me reconsider my own quest in writing a book for high school grads, as this one covers a lot of good material. Chapters discuss the importance of good choices, knowing yourself, different types of colleges and technical institutes, volunteering, travel, and other options and considerations for high school grads.

There are different editions of the book published for different markets. Canadian and American editions exist (and potentially other regions as well) and there are also College and University editions. I bought an American College edition in Canada (go figure). It was almost 270 pages.

While the authors covered a lot of good content, I think I would have found the book a bit of a hard slog to finish if I was 18 years old. Parts of it weren't as engaging as I would have expected, given the target audience. If you're a more cerebral high school grad, and your trying to figure out what to do, this might be the book for you. As the authors aptly point out in the book: 'College is an expensive place to get your head together.'

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

I did an informational interview with a student from one of my SAIT classes earlier this week, and one of his questions got me thinking. He asked me what it was like starting a career in Information Technology before Google went public - as he put it, 'when IT was a cool and cutting edge industry with browsers and technology changing and evolving all the time.'

I answered him as best I could. I felt I started my IT career at the tail end of that whole 'gold rush' as it were. In many ways it felt like a bit of a lottery - if you chose the right company to work for, you could get rather rich; if you chose the right technology or language to become an expert in, you could also get rich. But if you missed out on either of those choices, well, it might not be the fairy-tale experience we hear in so many stories. I fortunately chose a good language to focus on (java) at that time, and that helped establish my career.

I was reflecting on that conversation this evening, and I realized that while I had managed to get into IT reasonable close to when new media started going main stream, I have also had the distinction of having a career in an 'industry in decline' - print media. Specifically newsprint. That was a different feeling. It was not well paying. There was shift work. Certainly more dangerous. In fact, I just realized tonight that when we did maintenance on the press, we never 'locked it out' - a standard safety practice in many industries I had learned over a decade earlier in the saw mill. The support for education (getting a journeyman's ticket) in the industry was poor. In fact, it was a bit of joke. We ran huge presses that would hardly fit in a gym, and the journeyman course was on a press that would fit in a closet.

What is the lesson here? .... I can hear you thinking.

I got into printing because an organization had a need and I was asked to fill it. I was tired of formal education and learning theory without practical, hands on experience. I wanted to feel productive. Printing really scratched that itch for me. I didn't care how much I was making. The product of my labour was tangible - I could see it and I knew I was learning good things and getting experience, and that felt good.

There's a time though, when you need to examine where you are and what your doing with your life. Ask yourself if you can continue doing this for another 10 or 20 years. Does it make practical sense for you to do it for that much longer? Will it affect your health and your quality of life down the line, etc. That's what my wife and I did. And as a result, we sold our house, moved, and I went back to school.